a night sky consumed in light

a night sky consumed in light is an homage to Olbers' Paradox, which was theorized by the amateur German astronomer Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers. Also commonly referred to as the 'dark night sky paradox,' it states that if the universe were truly infinite in size, and therefore contained an infinite number of stars within it, then eventually the entire night sky would be in negative; looking up at night we would see a white field with small black specks that would slowly be swallowed up by the ever-increasing brightness of the sky. This would eventually (theoretically) lead to a complete reversal of night and day. Though only casually mentioned in Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time, I was immediately fascinated with the idea of Olbers' Paradox. While the theory has been proven impossible under our current scientific understanding, it's a great thought experiment to wonder 'what if?' in regards to what would be such an amazing cosmic phenomenon. a night sky consumed in light begins with four statements of different melodies that serve as the basis for all of the music heard through to the end of the piece. These melodies are run through different contexts and transformations to create a great variety in textures akin to light traveling through the various sectors of the universe. When the piece reaches its emotional zenith, the different trails of light have reached their endpoint on Earth, and (in this scientifically inaccurate and infinite universe) Olbers' Paradox is realized as night and day switch places. The appearance of the Sun heralds the beginning of the new night from Earth's perspective as the piece closes. a night sky consumed in light was commissioned by and is dedicated to SONAR New Music Ensemble.